M.Ed. / Students exhibit misconceptions or deviations from universally accepted concepts. Constructivists trace these misconceptions back' to the unique conceptual frames of reference of students. Ausubel (1985:82) named prior knowledge as the single most important factor influencing learning. New teaching strategies were designed to prevent or eliminate these misconceptions. The strategies are based on guidelines postulated by researchers such as Posner and his co-workers (1982:211). Several strategies use media to motivate students or provide a more concrete base for concept formation. The side effects of the utilization of media are important to designers and users of media. An empirical investigation was launched to determine whether media could also stimulate the formation of misconceptions. The investigation indicated that two dimensional representations of atoms, molecules and ion lattices can lead to misconceptions. Greater care should be taken in the selection of illustrations for textbooks and other media. If these side effects are taken into account by media designers and teachers, media can play a major role in the prevention and elimination of misconceptions.

Post-apartheid South Africa is witnessing an education crisis of significant proportions. The new outcomes-based education system has failed to deliver and universities are suffering the consequences of under-preparation of learners for tertiary studies especially in mathematics. The educator corps is lacking and it has become common practice for universities to deploy augmented programmes in mathematics for secondary school learners in the surrounding areas. This thesis describes a particular approach of blended learning, devised for the Incubator School Project (ISP), an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The defining feature of this blended approach is that it incorporates DVD technology, which offers an affordable and accessible option for the particular group of learners and the schools they attend. The thesis poses the research question: How did the use of the DVD approach within a blended learning environment support the learning of mathematics? This case study explores the particular blended approach and reports six fold on the approach – qualitatively based firstly on a questionnaire completed by learners and secondly on interviews of learners, thirdly on the facilitators reports, fourthly quantitatively on learner performance before and after the intervention. Fifthly six schools are used as a case study where the mathematics performance of the learners who participated in the ISP is compared to those who did not participate in the ISP. Finally the scope of blending of this model is evaluated by means of a radar chart, adapted from an existing radar measure. This research revealed that using the DVD approach within a blended learning environment did lead to an improvement in learners perceptions about mathematics, an improvement in the manner in which they learned mathematics, an extension in their mathematics knowledge and provided learners with a supportive environment in which to learn mathematics. The elements which supported learning in this approach are presented. The findings of the study suggest that this approach impacted favourably on the mathematics learning and enhanced the mathematics learning and performance of these learners. Recommendations are offered for practice, teachers and schools and for further research possibilities.

This study examined and compared the effect of two feedback methodologies (visual and traditional) on the degree of skill acquisition for the two field hockey skills, Indian dribble and moving drive. Forty-seven female physical education students, ages 12 to 14 years, practised two basic field hockey skills for four consecutive classes. The experimental group was presented with a prototypic example, video feedback (VF), and checklist analysis while the control group was taught by traditional feedback methods which included teacher and student demonstrations in conjunction with verbal feedback. Performance evaluations were made by comparing scores on the Russell (1989) Field Hockey Checklist of Critical Behaviours. Motivational and attitudinal aspects were compared by the use of a Learning Perceptions Questionnaire. An ANCOVA of the Indian dribble performances did not reveal a significant difference between the methodologies. Analysis of the degrees of improvement was made using two comparisons (a) percentage improvement calculations revealed a mean of 27% for the control group and 31% for the experimental group, (b) the Hale and Hale (1972) procedure indicated means of 7.42 and 7.24 for the control and experimental groups, respectively. The ANCOVA of the moving drive indicated a significant difference (F=5.75, p<.05) between the methodologies in favor of the experimental group. The improvement comparisons revealed (a) mean scores of 10% for the control group and 32% for the experimental group, (b) the Hale and Hale procedure results revealed mean scores of 5 and 13 for the control and experimental groups, respectively. The analysis of the Learning Perceptions Questionnaire revealed that the subjects in the experimental group perceived that the checklists helped them to focus on the correct and incorrect behaviours and that watching the prototypic example in conjunction with personal performances helped to improve their skill level, thus providing a motivational element. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Subject Didactics) / The ideal in education is that the curriculum provided (by the teacher) and the curriculum received (by the pupil), as originally drafted by the designers, should agree. However, there are indications that this ideal is often not achieved in the teaching of Mathematics, the reason being, inter alia, the backlog in the subject arising from inadequate knowledge as a result of misconceptions in regard to certain basic concepts. Misconceptions among pupils indicate that the shaping of understanding and mastering the concepts have been inadequate. It should be kept in mind that frame of reference and world view are peculiar to each pupil and will be utilized by him for interpreting and processing new concepts. It is therefore essential that the world view of the pupil should be investigated as being the factor which is probably basic to the problem of misconception. The point of departure is therefore that pupils have divergent world views, which invariably affect their understanding of Mathematics. Throughout the ages misconceptions were inextricably part of natural science in general and Mathematics in particular. During modern times, since the 1960s, Boyd has paved the way for reflection regarding misconceptions in natural scientific teaching by using the term "unfounded beliefs", and the attention was actively drawn to the problems surrounding misconceptions. Terms now mostly used as synonyms for misconceptions are conceptual framework, alternative frameworks, and alternative conceptions...

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The purposes of this study were (1) to ascertain the total absolute change scores between student basic interest scale scores on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) and like scores on the audio interest inventory (All), and the audio-visual interest inventory (AVII), which are based on the SCII; and (2) to ascertain if a statistically significant relationship exists between students with high reading ability and students with low reading ability, when different test-retest inventory administration methods are used.

This thesis presents the results of a study conducted to determine if visual aids impacted the general science capabilities of middle school students.

This study is focused on how technology is employed as educational support media in distance education. The aim is to establish the availability and accessibility of interac¬tive television for both guidance teachers and students in rural, remote and previously disadvantaged communities. Interactive television could be used to support the primary modes of education, namely, contact education on campus or at remote sites, paper-¬based distance education and Web-based distance education for in-service education and training of guidance teachers. The TELETUKS schools project is cursorily pre¬sented as an example of a technology-enhanced delivery system to facilitate interactive television learning. The ITV has the potential to be cost-effective, saving on travelling costs and reaching for increased numbers of upgrading guidance teachers per unit time. A comprehensive interactive television model for in-service training of the guidance teacher in the Northern Province is presented. / Thesis (PhD (Educational Guidance and Counselling))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The problem of this study was to determine if significant differences in scores attained by students on academic achievement, problem-solving, and attitudes were associated with closed-circuit television observations. More specifically, the problem was resolved into seeking solutions to the following! 1. Will college students' academic achievement be extended through television observations of children in classroom situations? 2. Will college students' ability to solve problems be improved through television observations? 3. Will college students' attitudes toward teacher-pupil relationships be affected through television observations?

Since dental caries in children remains a significant public health problem, this study developed a brief cartoon video e-health intervention focused on parents’ ensuring their children’s engagement in three key oral health behaviors: brushing twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste, avoiding the consumption of large quantities of sugar-containing foods and beverages, and visiting the dentist every six months. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the cartoon video as a brief e-health intervention, and to identify significant predictors of parental self-efficacy to ensure their children’s engagement in recommended oral health behaviors after viewing an animated video with their child. The sample included 75 parents with a child aged six to eight years. Parents were mostly female (85%, n = 63), white (84.0%, n = 63), with a mean age of 35.2 years (SD = 5.5), mean educational level between a two- and four-years of college, and mean household income of $20,000 to $39,000 per year. Parents had one or two children (51.8%, n = 39) with a mean age of 6.72 years who were mostly boys (65.3%, n = 49) in public school (80.0%, n = 60). Findings indicated the brief e-health cartoon was an effective intervention, given significant changes from pre-video to post-video in mean scores for: parent oral health knowledge (t = –5.437, df = 74, p = 0.000); global stage of change for performing all three key oral health behaviors (t = –1.804, df = 74, p = 0.000); and, global self-efficacy for performing all three key oral health behaviors (t = –3.838, df = 74, p = 0.000). Further, most parents rated the cartoon highly and indicated they would recommend it to other parents and children. Backwards stepwise regression, controlling for social desirability, indicated higher post-video parental self-efficacy for the three recommended oral health behaviors post-video was significantly predicted by: parent female gender (B = 1.072, p = 0.000); parent was not born in the U.S. (B = –0.544, p = 0.028); parent had a partner (yes) (B = 0.707, p = 0.000); parent was a student (yes) (B = 0.933, p = 0.001); lower parent education level (B = –0.142, p = 0.021); child was not in public school (B = –0.427, p = 0.028); higher Parental Intention Scale (PI-S-3) score (B = 0.302, p = 0.011); and higher parent pre-video oral health knowledge (B = 0.313, p = 0.000)—with 55.2% of variance predicted (R2 = 0.608, adjusted R2 = 0.552) by the model.